A Falling Bluebird

Catch Me

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In moments, engines were thrumming and Loki could feel the floor vibrating under his feet. He stood at the top of the ramp, staring blankly at the crumpled body by the entrance. Time was slow, passing like treacle. He watched Moth walk away, disappear through a side door. Then thumping of boots and yet another swathe of guards appeared, sprinting, coming for them. Without preamble, the group walked over their fallen comrades and Hon Dör, nearly hiding her completely from sight.

Loki blinked, snapped out of the blankness which had taken over and retreated, through the door and into the ship. Punched the button by the ramp resolutely. Held the dead gaze of his almost-friend as it closed. He had made the choice and now he would live with it.

"Guards!" He said after a moment, made his way into the cockpit, "We need to take off."

"Noticed," Thor shot back, leaning over the controls and brow furrowed.

All four of them were crowded into the small space, unsure hands flitting over buttons and levers.

Banner glanced back, looked up at Valkyrie from where he sat in the pilot's chair, "You're from here, right? Can you read this?"

She stared back, "No."

"Great..." He sighed and turned to the controls again, was about to talk but there was a sudden armful of megalomaniac leaning over him.

Loki remembered vague bits and pieces from Hiroim's tour. Thankfully, he had been paying attention aboard this ship, and when he'd been flown in by Valkyrie what felt like long ago. It was a different system to her ship, but there were enough similarities that he knew which stick was probably for steering. A quick tug and the whirring engines became louder but, more importantly, the ground receded beneath them. He grinned at the sight, glanced at Valkyrie, "You pilot, I'll handle the rest."

Again, she answered in the negative.

"I thought you wanted to get out of here? No one else has experience flying ships like this!" Loki stared at her incredulously.

Valkyrie snorted in answer, then was gesturing behind her, "And none of you know how to work that turbo laser either, right? You fly."

"Me."

"If you know so much about it, sure."

Loki glowered but then the ship was juddering.

With a muttered curse, he grabbed onto the pilot chair back. Banner made a confused yelp of a sound as he was almost flung from his seat, "That's just the engines, right?" Just as he was finishing whatever inane question it was, Loki shoved him from the chair and set himself on the edge of it, leaning over the controls.

"Take a guess," Loki stared out of the cockpit window and down at the group of guards, weapons at their shoulders and bolts flying in a hail of light. "Maybe, just maybe, the angry, gun-wielding locals have something to do with it?"

"Your temper hasn't improved since New York," Banner grumbled in return but Loki ignored him in favour of grabbing the stick and yanking back, avoiding another volley of shots.

Acting mostly on instinct and hazy memory, his hands danced across the controls, pulling levers and pushing buttons until they were flying, rapidly increasing in speed, towards the exit. It was two huge slabs of metal, one up above and the other below, sunk into the floor. And slowly groaning towards each other. Evidently, whoever controlled this place had caught on.